This was my 3rd and final time of completing the West Highland Way.
I married an English lady last year, and being a proud Scot, I wanted to show her some of the best scenery Scotland has to offer, so I suggested the WHW and she was only too happy to accept (a decision that we both questioned at various points during the journey).
Day 1: Milngavie to Drymen.
By far the easiest section of the walk. The ground is good underfoot and with no big climbs to speak of it is a nice, easy introduction to distance walking. We completed this in about 4 hours.
Day 2: Drymen to Rowardennan.
It was at the end of this day that my wife realised that the WHW wouldn't be a walk in the park.
A nice walk out of Drymen finally brought us to Conic Hill. I had avoided climbing it once in the past, but I wanted to show Kelly the spectacular view of Loch Lomond and the Boundary Fault from the top. It was a beautiful day and she wasn't disappointed. The only slight negative was the volume of people making the ascent with us. May is the busiest time of year for the WHW, so if you don't want lots of people around you the best thing to do is start walking very early in the morning or wait until around 10am.

The descent was painful. I'd forgotten how bad the path down was, not just for how steep it was, but the path is extremely rocky and can be quite uncomfortable underfoot. This, unfortunately, was the same scenario for many areas of the walk, particularly when you reach the old military road.
We stopped for lunch in Balmaha before continuing on to Rowardennan. There are a couple of steep climbs on this section, but nothing too severe. We dropped into The Clansman bar in Rowardennan for a celebratory beer before heading off to our accommodation.We completed this section (including lunch) in 6.5 hours.
Day 3: Rowardennan to Inverarnan.
Take the high route on this one. Shortly after Ptarmigan Lodge the path splits and only the low route is signposted. Ignore this and carry on up the hill, otherwise you will be scrambling over rocks along the shore side for about 4 miles. The high route will take you up through the forest and it is absolutely beautiful. The 2 paths will meet again on your descent and then you will have a couple of miles of tough terrain, the same as you would have had if you had taken the low route to begin with.This will then lead to the Inversnaid Hotel and you are now pretty much halfway to Inverarnan.
For me, this is probably the second toughest section of the walk. The ground is awful to walk on and you spend a lot of time scrambling over rocks on sections of the path that are extremely narrow. This continues all the way to the end of the loch and removes any enjoyment you should be getting from the scenery around you. Once you get to the end of the loch you are about 3 miles from Inverarnan. There's a bit of a climb before you begin your descent into the Beinglass Campsite. If you are going to the Drovers Inn, exit the campsite and continue back down the main road for about a quarter of a mile. We completed this section in 7 hours.

Day 4: Inverarnon to Bridge of Orchy.
By this stage we were counting Ibuprofen as one of our 5 a-day. The pain in our knees from the rough ground and steep descents was taking its toll. Thankfully, the ground improved and there were no big climbs to speak of. The scenery and the weather was beautiful again. There is a brilliant section here where you climb into a forest, just where the path splits for Tyndrum and Crianlarich. We did this section in 7 hours.
Day 5: Bridge of Orchy to Kinlochleven.
This section of the walk begins with an immediate climb out of Bridge of Orchy. A couple of miles later you are descending to the Inveroran hotel and brilliant views of Loch Tulla and this is followed by a gradual ascent onto Rannoch Moor using the old military road. Again, many parts are poor underfoot, but this is quickly forgotten when you are walking across the moor. I love this section of the walk. The feeling of remoteness is fantastic and the walk is generally pretty easy going. A quick stop-off for lunch at the Glencoe Ski Centre, multiple photos of Buachaille Etive Mor and then it's a couple of easy miles before heading up the Devil's Staircase. This isn't as difficult as the name suggests. The ground is poor, but it's a zig-zag climb and you should be at the top in around 45 minutes. It's the next section that's the biggest issue on the WHW for me - the descent into Kinlochleven. The state of the path here is bordering on criminal. The ground is pretty much just fist-size rocks that you need to navigate all the way down to the bottom. We did this section in 9.5 hours.

Day 6: Kinlochleven to Fort William.
A seemingly never-ending climb out of Kinlochleven. Really tough going, given that it's day 6 and our legs feel like they've been donated to us by a bed ridden 90 year old. We eventually reach the top and are greeted with a view of the path stretching miles ahead, it reminded me of the Great Wall of China. It continues to be extremely poor underfoot, but the views are spectacular, until you descend into what can only be described as the most soul destroying section of the walk. It's the remains of a forest that was clearly felled years and years ago, with no attempts made to regenerate it. As far as the eye can see there are only dead branches and tree stumps, all in a kind of petrified silver colour. It was truly heartbreaking to see.
About 8 miles into this section you have a choice to make: There is a map that shows where you are and offers 2 routes down to Fort William; Continue on the horrendous path or take the road. Given the state of the path, not to mention our knees and feet, we chose the latter.
There is a gate leading to a "B" road to the left of an entrance to the WHW path. This road will take you about 6 miles into Fort William. There are 2 or 3 climbs, but it's easy on your feet and we only passed about 3 cars the entire time. There are spectacular views to your right of Ben Nevis, and the summit was visible when we did it. We did this section in 8.5 hours.



I've never been disappointed with the amazing scenery and the walkers I've met along the way, but I have always been disappointed with the condition of large sections of the path. Everyone we spoke to had an issue with it and it worries me that the volume of people coming to do this great walk will only decrease over time if something isn't done to repair the path. On a couple of sections towards the end of the walk there were signs of some remedial work being carried out, on one section it was a man with a pick axe and a spade simply trying to mend what he could.
It's a real shame that what should be an awesome experience is being overshadowed by a dilapidated path.